Design

I don't want this to be taken as a knock to ToodleDo, because I have tried them ALL, and ToodleDo is BY FAR the best app out there. But are there any plans in the future to work on the design of the site? I wonder if that is the reason why some people don't jump on board.

As a designer myself, I tried some of the others before I eventually landed on ToodleDo based solely on the fact that I like the way they looked better. But to be honest, the only thing any of the others really have above ToodleDo is a nicer UI. ToodleDo rocks the others as far as functionality!

As a designer myself, I share the same thoughts. The cow and Todoist are amazing in its design. Not the functionality, though. This one rocks but it's not too pretty. Let's send it to plastic surgery, please

I agree with Jon, and don't understand the complaints. At the same time, I have read in forums elsewhere where people seem to look at Toodledo as amateurish or simplistic just because of the "look" of the site, something any user knows is not the case. So it seems that at least some people agree with the first two posts here. It is their own loss for judging a book by its cover. This is an incredible service, and anyone who looks elsewhere for cosmetic reasons alone is making a critical error. That said, I am all for snazzing up the interface if it helps to grow Toodledo as long as it doesn't slow me down or make things more difficult to do.

Yeah I don't see what the fuss is about. The only thing about todoist and vitalist that really jump out is the "cleaner" font and bit more high-res/drop shadow icons (eg. star). Presumably toodledo can fix those trivially if they wanted to.

I agree that the design is an initial turnoff compared to some of the other sites, which use a more current aesthetic that has emerged over the past two years or so (which is very iPhone and rather whitespace-Zen). I initially dismissed Toodledo for that very reason--boy, was I wrong!

After 15 minutes of using Toodledo I saw the sheer beauty of it. It crushes RTM and the other apps out there, and all the bells and whistles that initially looked like chaos and clutter suddenly made complete sense.

Ultimately, Toodledo's UI is by far the most intuitive and is superfast, even though it's not initially very pretty. So I second Anders_Royce in the idea that I'd love for Toodledo to improve its design as long as they do it in a way that doesn't hamper performance or usability. Also, I don't want to sacrifice the compact size of the fonts/icons.

Toodledo--please don't change the location of items (links, tabs, search, etc.). I second Frossie that there could be few simple changes to spruce up the fonts and icons that would make Toodledo more appealing to people looking to jump ship from RTM and the others.

I believe that a very significant percentage of potential users go elsewhere precisely because this site does not have that "polished" feel.

Hey, this site is not THAT bad. It's actually pretty decent. It's just not as slick as RTM or one of those beautiful Mac apps like The Hit List or Things.

This is only my second post here, but I'm a Pro subscriber... I've used RTM for awhile, but did not like its Google-ish insistence on using search strings in place of hierarchical structures (I think BOTH are useful in information structure -- both flexible "tag" structure and hierarchical "folder" structure). Also the attitude of the developers towards its users is abysmal, whereas in the TD forums the developers are very responsive to users...

So I really feel that TD is a superior product and company, but I also share the feeling that the visual design of its UI is hurting its popularity.

The UI is very functional, and easy to use (and rapidly getting easier to use, thanks to non-stop improvements). But its not very sexy.

Does that make my experience diminished? Not really, because I am interested in the tool, not in how it looks.

But I suspect it turns off potential users, who visit the site and are not seduced by any visual appeal. And this is why, I suspect, the cow has gotten so much more notice from sites like Lifehacker, even though it's a stagnant and (comparatively) inferior product.

After a long, long search for a good task manager, I feel I am committed to TD, and I want this great product to do well -- and I really think a certain "sex appeal" is part of gaining a wider user base.

So I'm adding my voice to those who think the design should be improved.

The solution I think would be best: offer a design contest, and have users vote on favorite designs. (Not in terms of function -- I think the UI is great in this regard. Only visually.)

The ultimate solution would be to have great default design, but also allow "skins" so that people can choose from many different designs.

I don't think it is so much the functionality of the Toodledo UI that people are worried about because I completely agree that it is pretty darn good, especially considering all the different elements they have managed to work in. What I think people want to see improvements to is the pure prettiness factor.

Yeah, we know that we aren't the prettiest website. We've been prioritizing functionality over beauty, since we have limited resources, but we know that it is something that we need to do if we want to reach a wider audience.

Think you have the right priorities for the app. I also like the users here if they also value those priorities. If too many people come to TD because of "sex appeal" this might create unintended consequences for the program. Want TD to grow and be very successful with 80% of that coming from being an even better/ more functional tool and 20% from aesthetics while using it. Edward

Yeah, we know that we aren't the prettiest website. We've been prioritizing functionality over beauty, since we have limited resources, but we know that it is something that we need to do if we want to reach a wider audience.

For what it's worth, I left that other online task manager precisely because as time progressed, updates were not being done and the whole web app became less useful and more annoying to work with. The only thing it has going for it in my opinion is the "pretty" and the "cool" factor that so many of its users are convinced it offers. That wasn't enough to keep me.

The ongoing enhancements that you are providing for your customers far outstrips the "pretty" factor, and I think more and more of that other online task manager's customers have begun coming over here for the same reason.

I'm a very new user (day one) - I'm still not 100% sure whether to go for Toodledo or Todoist. The main reason to go for Todoist would be that it has a very simple and stylish look (plus more levels of folders/projects plus more levels of subtasks).

It's not dramatically different, but it does give Toodledo a slightly "cleaner" look.

... and applying that script, at least the style issue is resolved! So why not have a chat with this Andy and see if you can use his style instead? That would take very very little development resources and still be a huge improvement. That's my two cents.

I think the problem is that no look is right for everybody. I, for instance, don't find that style particularly appealing. Just my personal taste. I actually prefer the Dark theme made by Vin. Toodledo does have a selection of theme colors you can choose from in your Account Settings, but many people want to have it just the way they want it, which is where the Stylish themes come in. You can find a variety of them on userstyles.orghttp://userstyles.org/styles/browse/all/toodledo/popularity/desc/1

I think the problem is that no look is right for everybody. I, for instance, don't find that style particularly appealing. Just my personal taste. I actually prefer the Dark theme made by Vin. Toodledo does have a selection of theme colors you can choose from in your Account Settings, but many people want to have it just the way they want it, which is where the Stylish themes come in. You can find a variety of them on userstyles.orghttp://userstyles.org/styles/browse/all/toodledo/popularity/desc/1

Anders,

I think the complain here goes beyond a color scheme or a style implementation.

I agree that Toodledo needs to revamp their GUI to be more modern and mimic some of the other sites it competes with. Many of my friends do not use Toodledo based on it's GUI regardless if it's functionality is way better than the others.

People not only like to be productive, but they also enjoy something with eye candy and a great layout.

My biggest complaint on the GUI for Toodledo is how everything is laid out like a spreadsheet, rather than an application. Add any function to Toodledo and it get's a new column.

Other sites have these options implemented inside the task and provide a better experience.

OSX and Windows 7 understand that Eye Candy sells. The GUI is the single most important factor when someone is looking at software. They may never dive deep enough into the application to realize it's power if they did not get drawn in by the GUI from the start.

I know many of you think functionality is the most important and I agree, but we must be realistic here. The GUI makes a bigger difference to a larger number of potential users.

Once Toodledo improves Sub-task, Project Management and adds Drag and Drop. They will be ready for world domination, but only if the GUI is improved.

I am a 3D Designer by profession and I can tell you that every year the two competing applications in my industry focus on ease of use and the GUI.

The functionality is expected, but the GUI and Ease of Use is what sells it.

This is why I would never be impressed with a Honda Civic that has been modified to perform like a Ferrari. In the end it's still a Civic and I would prefer the looks of the Ferrari any day. If cost is not considered in this example, I can bet you that most would take a Ferrari that performed less than the modified Honda Civic.

The enjoyment of the tool is very important.

Toodledo provides the functionality of a Ferrari but it looks like a Honda Civic at the moment.

P.S. No offense to any Honda Civic owners. They are good looking cars and extremely reliable. This is just an analogy. :-)